The Long Way Around
by FranksDWFiction
Summary: The Doctor just saved Gallifrey - or did he? What happens next leads the Doctor on an adventure that spans (re)generations. Settings: Chapter 1 - Home; immediately following The Day of the Doctor
1. Chapter 1 - Home

The Doctor appeared dazed.

"I dream about where I'm going," thought the Doctor. He was intensely concentrating on something.

"I have a new destination", he pondered; his mind racing.

As he walked slowly through the TARDIS doors, Clara's wide smile she had on for the past 10 minutes faded to concern as she noticed the mix of worry, confusion, and penetrating stare on the Doctor's face.

"Doctor, are you OK," asked Clara?

He resembled a man intensely concentrating on a problem, but not fully sure how to solve it. So many variables, so many unknowns, so many outcomes, he thought. It was an impossible idea.

Home…the long way around, his thoughts continued to wander. He ignored her. Or maybe he didn't even hear her.

"Doctor?" she repeated in a softer, gentler voice.

He stopped just short of the console, but kept his stare out into the vastness of time and space.

"Doctor?" she repeated in a whisper, as she reached out and put her hand gently on his shoulder.

The Doctor jumped - her touch jolting him back to this side of reality.

"Oh. Yes. Clara. Right." He was coming out of daydream. "So!" he exclaimed as he clapped his hands together.

Startled, Clara jumped backwards.

"Where should we go?" the Doctor asked Clara in the most jubilant, cheerful voice. "Where should we go today?" He half ran, half skipped around the TARDIS console, flipping switches, and getting ready to take off.

"Wait, Doctor," Clara said urgently. "Are you OK? You looked like you have just seen a ghost."

The Doctor stopped in his tracks and turned back to her. "Ah, well, I supposed you could look at it that way. I'm not totally sure what to make of it," the Doctor replied, momentarily slipping back into his daze. The Doctor has just seen an incarnation of his fourth self. This man was older than the Fourth Doctor was when he regenerated. How could this be? He was so young at the time of his demise.

Not to be distracted though, he flipped gears once again back to his jovial mood.

"I think we've had a very tough day, wouldn't you say?" he said softly with a big smile, as he bounced over to Clara.

That's the understatement of the century, Clara thought. Day? Century? Millennia? What did it matter? Time was all relative in the TARDIS.

Her memories were fading. The events of the day spanned time and space. Daleks. Queen Elizabeth I – two of them if you count the Zygon. The threat of nuclear annihilation from a bomb beneath UNIT HQ. Gallifrey. Three Doctors, with one of them marrying the Queen. It was all so much to retain. She was tired.

"Home," said Clara, as she too now stared out into nothingness, "I'd like to go home."

Returning from her own daydreaming, Clara noticed the Doctor had his hand on his chin – again back it deep thought mode.

The Doctor pondered the word. Home. Clara wanted to go home. Home is a good place, and may be the solution to my conundrum, he thought. But not 'home' in the way Clara is thinking about it. Where was his home, he continued to think. Gallifrey, of course, but Gallifrey didn't exist anymore, so where do I call home now?

The answer was obvious. Earth was his home. He had spent so much time there. So many lives - even almost an entire live there. Yes, Earth was his home.

"Doctor, did you hear me? I'd like to go home. Doctor?"

"Home?" the Doctor looked up at her inquisitively?

"Home," he repeated, as if 'home' was the answer to all his problems.

"Home!" the Doctor exclaimed as he jumped into the air! Clara stumbled backward. It was the second time in as many minutes. The Doctor was beginning to scare her.

For the next several days, the Doctor ate little, and slept even less. The dedication to his task was something Clara had never seen before. The Doctor's mind was always wandering. It was unusual for him to stay focused on any single task for more than a few minutes. This was different. The Doctor was up to something. He was in full scientific mode. After a day, the floor of the TARDIS console room was covered in notes on bits and pieces of paper from throughout history.

After the second day, the Doctor had moved his efforts, which appeared to be some sort of research, into one of the old laboratories. This lab had its own dedicated library consisting of endless shelves of scientific books. There were books on Chemistry; books on Physics; and books on less Earthly subjects such as Temporal Mechanics, Spatial Manipulation, and an entire bookcase of TARDIS Maintenance Manuals. It was this last set of books the Doctor seemed most interested in at the moment.

By the third day, Clara was bored out of her mind. She had asked the Doctor several times what he was doing. He always replied in generalities such as "Research", or "Important Stuff". Finally, after much coaxing, she did manage to get some sort of answer out of him.

"Do you remember what happened three days ago?" the Doctor asked Clara. Perplexed at the question, Clara stopped to think. They had been through a lot. She knew something wasn't right, but couldn't put her finger on it. She remembered – sort of.

"Yeah, but it's getting fuzzy", she said. "It's almost like it was all a dream. It's getting harder and harder to retain the events. I don't know; I must be going crazy."

"You're not going crazy," replied the Doctor compassionately. "Remember, when my other selves were leaving? I mentioned the time streams were out of sync, and that we wouldn't be able to retain the memories."

"Yes," replied Clara. "That part I still remember."

The Doctor continued, "We're the closest ones to the actual events; they concluded in our 'present', so we're retaining the memories the longest. But it won't last forever. You've even said the events seem like a dream to you. Well, they're all getting fuzzy to me too. That's why I've been doing all this," said the Doctor as he opened his arms and waved them across the endless mounds of paperwork and books and notes sprawled across the tables and floors.

"I need to write this all down," said the Doctor.

"Write what?" inquired Clara.

"My other selves came to help," stated the Doctor.

"Yeah, that was kind of weird," replied Clara, "I thought three of you were a lot. It would have been nice to have a family reunion and meet all of you. I mean me – this version of me - to meet all of you at the same time."

"Only three of me were pulled into the time-locked events on Gallifrey. The others," the Doctor paused, slightly confused, "well, I'm not quite sure yet how they were able to show up. But nevertheless, they were there. I do have some theories. That's what I'm working on. I need to ensure my other selves show up at exactly the right time and place."

"But Doctor," Clara interrupted, "since your other selves _did_ show up, doesn't that mean…"

Now it was the Doctor's turn to interrupt.

"Clara, cause and effect are intertwined beyond timey-whimey now,", the Doctor started instructively. "We don't want to put ourselves in a paradox. I didn't notice how many of my other selves made it to help us out, but I need to guarantee at least some of them do."

"But Doctor," Clara said, "how do you know they already don't know what do to? How do you know everything you've been doing here for the past three days hasn't been done already?"

"Ah, yes, well," the Doctor admitted, "that's the problem with cause and effect when you're a time traveler. Sometimes the effect and cause are reversed, or the effect _is_ the cause. It gets confusing. Honestly", he sighed, "I _don't_ know I haven't done all this already."

The Doctor's voice trailed off as he concluded, "I just have a feeling I haven't yet."

Clara woke on Day Four to the distant sound of an awful racket. The sound was muffled, but definitely sounded like some sort of large machinery. As she yawned, she put on her robe, and walked out to the Console room. Hmm, no Doctor, Clara thought. She began her quest to find the Doctor. She searched through all of the rooms she knew about: the Library, the pool, the gardens, and several of the laboratories. Nothing. The TARDIS was vast, so even trying to simply follow the noise was nearly impossible.

Finally, she thought the sound was getting louder. She continued to trust her senses, and ended up in an old, dusty room. There were machines making all sorts of loud sounds. She walked over to one of the machines. It looked like the inner workings of a giant, ancient typewriter.

"Doctor!" Clara yelled over the noise of the machinery. No response.

"Doctor! Are you here!?" she screamed again.

The Doctor popped his head from around one of the machines. "He—o, Cl-," said the Doctor.

Clara held her hand to hear ear indicating she couldn't hear the Doctor above the racket. "—c—n't h-re y-!" she yelled back.

"Di- y-u h—e a goo- ni—t's sle-?" the Doctor asked.

"I ca—hea- -ou!" she screamed louder.

"Wha-?" the Doctor replied perplexed.

"I ca—HEAR…" she paused, yelling at the top of her lungs. This time the end of her sentence was clearly heard as all went silent with the flick of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. "You," she finished her sentence in more normal tone.

"No need to shout, Clara," the Doctor said curiously.

"Doctor, how did you do that?" Clara asked in amazement.

"Well," he started as he took out his multi-purpose magic wand, "there's a reason, well, many reasons, but definitely relevant reasons it's called a _sonic_ screwdriver. Setting number one thousand, two hundred, thirty-six – 'Cancels out any noise over 100 decibels within a 1000 foot radius.' – like a giant cone of…," the Doctor paused, embarrassed, realizing what he was about to say. He finished his sentence in a soft, apologetic tone, "silence." He bowed his head, turned, and walked away from Clara.

"Doctor, are these printing presses?" asked Clara inquisitively.

"Why yes! Very observant of you", the Doctor replied, his mood instantly more jovial.

"What are you doing with all of these printing presses?" she continued.

"Well, see," the Doctor started, "I need to get instructions to my other selves. I need something that will withstand the test of, well…," he paused, and looking slightly embarrassed again, "time."

Clara looked on in disbelief, "Doctor, you built these? When? Why? How do _you_ know how to make ancient printing presses?"

The Doctor looked hurt. "Of course I know how to make a printing press. Who do you think gave old Gutenberg the idea? Elves? It was me! So many great advances from your silly history would have never happened without a nudge or swift kick in the backside from me!"

The Doctor explained what his plan was. The best way to withstand the test of time was via the printed word. Books have survived throughout the ages. Also, books were unaffected by any technological blip, quirk, or paradox he's been through over the centuries.

"So," he concluded, "I'll put a copy of the instructions in the TARDIS of each of my other selves. I'll set up a time lock to…"

The Doctor stopped abruptly. He was merrily explaining his ingenious plan, spinning and animating each part with his body and flapping hands when he noticed it. He had to keep a straight face. This was all wrong. He had never noticed it _inside_ the TARDIS. This was _very_ wrong. He mustn't let on to Clara that something was wrong. What to do? He realized he must think fast!

"Home!" the Doctor exclaimed out of nowhere while clapping his hands together.

As Clara had been engrossed in the Doctor's explanation, she was caught off guard. "Huh? What?" she asked in a confused tone.

The Doctor pointed at Clara, " _You_ wanted to go home. How about now? Now is a good time."

"Uh, uh. No way! Something's going on. I can see it in your eyes," Clara replied urgently.

"No, really, this is boring stuff," he continued in a depressing voice. "I'll take you home, and be back in a month or so once I finish all this silly printing. I'm not going anywhere exciting. I have to add ink, add paper, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Very boring."

Reluctantly Clara agreed. She deserved a rest. Clara stopped off in her room, changed, packed her overnight bag, and then continued back to the console room. The Doctor was nervous. He was constantly looking back over his shoulder, hoping Clara didn't notice.

In the console room, the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors. As Clara walked past the scanner, she noticed the screen flashing INCOMING TRANSMISSION….INCOMING TRANSMISSION.

Clara stopped in her tracks upon reading the scanner screen, "Doctor, someone is trying to contact you."

"What?" the Doctor scrambled over to the scanner.

"Ah, that's nothing", he said as he waved his hand to dismiss the subject. "I get those all the time. It could be anything. Might be a distress call." The Doctor stopped to ponder the thought. Brushing it off almost instantly, he continued, "More likely somebody selling Space Encyclopedias or a totally inaccurate guide to the galaxy. Probably just some random message."

"Goodbye, Clara," the Doctor said.

"Goodbye, Doctor. Don't be a stranger."

Clara walked around to the near side of the console and headed up the ramp to the doors.

Even before the doors fully closed, the Doctor started rushing back to the printing press room. On his way, he paused for a brief moment as he heard a familiar, ominous sound in the distance. More urgently, he sprinted to the printing room. As he crossed the threshold, he stopped abruptly as the Cloister Bell chimed in triumph. The Doctor had a sinking feeling of horror. It was still there. The Crack in Amy's Wall was _here_ , _inside_ the TARDIS. The books would have to wait; there were other, more important mysteries to investigate.


	2. Chapter 2 - Second Chances

"Well, look at you all happy", Clara laughed. "That's rare."

"You know what's rarer?" the Doctor asked, "Second chances. I never get a second chance, so what happened this time? …don't even know who to thank."

The Doctor turned, looked at the snow covered street, turned around and entered the TARDIS. He slowly paced towards the center of the console room. "Second chances, second chances," he muttered.

"Hang on!" Clara exclaimed in an almost angry tone. "Ten seconds ago you were jolly o' Doctor, and _now_ you're pouting like a child. What could _possibly_ happen in ten seconds!?"

"Clara," the Doctor quickly walked over to her and continued, "do you think I procrastinate?"

" _That's_ the understatement of the millennia," she replied disbelievingly. "Doctor, you wrote the book on procrastination."

"Ah, well thanks for the vote of confidence," the Doctor said annoyingly.

The Doctor turned and started up the steps to the upper level. This was the Reference level of his new console room. This was where he stored the things he thought he might need at a moment's notice someday. He began circling the room in a rushed but daydream state, appearing to be looking for something, but not quite sure what, or where it might be.

Clara followed cautiously. Having traveled with the Doctor for so long, she realized he wasn't daydreaming, but in deep thought. He was either up to something, or about to be up to something. It worried her.

"Doctor," Clara asked, "are you OK? What's going on?"

The Doctor abruptly stopped and quickly turned around. Clara almost ran into him. "Index File!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

"What?" Clara said, taken aback by his abrupt change.

Just as quickly, he paused, again back into a dazed state. "Index File," he said again, this time trailing off in defeat.

"I used to keep an Index File, kind of like a catalog of everything of, about, and on the TARDIS," he began.

"That could be useful," Clara said, impressed that the Doctor could be so organized. "But?"

"But that was a very long time ago," the Doctor sighed. "So many centuries ago, so many things to catalog, so little…time. I dare say the Index File is long outdated by now."

Now _that_ 's the Doctor I know, Clara thought.

The Doctor turned back to his quest. "I'm looking for a book," he said assertively. "Actually twelve books, all the same."

The Doctor described the book to Clara. He asked if she remembered when he was printing those instruction books all those years ago? Clara of course remembered because for her, it was just a few short weeks ago. The Doctor noticed her confusion, and reminded her he's a time traveler. From his perspective, he printed those books hundreds of years ago. Initially shocked, Clara quickly realized she will never fully understand the Doctor. One thing she did realize though is what was once urgent for one Doctor, _her_ Doctor, hadn't been so much as an afterthought for this latest persona.

As he searched, the Doctor filled Clara in on what the books were all about. He started by explaining how he needed to ensure at least some of his selves would be able to make it to Gallifrey and defeat the Daleks. There were some very complicated calculations which needed to take place. Once the calculations had completed, the Doctor and his other selves needed to each direct his own TARDIS to a precise point in space and time, then had to calibrate the temporal generators to a specific setting, and finally set the TARDIS to speed every increasingly around Gallifrey. The whole process needed to be precisely choreographed.

The Doctor began to worry. "I can't remember where I put the books," he said in a panic. "But they _must_ be here. This is _not_ good."

"Doctor, don't panic. We'll find them," Clara said in a supportive tone. She continued to look around the TARDIS. As she was looking, she spotted an out of place desk. It was tucked into a corner (or the equivalent of a corner to the circular console room). The desk was about six feet long, and instead of a hutch to hold books, there were dozens and dozens of small drawers. Each drawer had a small handle, along with a small card inside a brass framed holder. Clara walked over to the desk and stopped in front of it. Her eyes squinted as she stared hard at the desk – it was obvious she was trying to recall some deep memory. There was something vaguely familiar about the desk. Was it from her childhood? She couldn't immediately place where she had seen a similar layout. Then it hit her!

"Um, Doctor," Clara stated. There was no response.

"Doctor!" she said more firmly. Still nothing.

"DOCTOR!" she said urgently one final time. This time she got the Doctor's attention.

The Doctor was at the top of a library ladder, pulling out book by book. He was getting frustrated.

"What is it Clara? I'm trying to find these books," he said in a 'leave me alone' tone.

"Doctor, you need to come down here," she said.

"I'm busy," he retorted. He was getting annoyed at the interruptions.

"Doctor, listen, I know how to find your books!" she said in a frustrated tone.

The Doctor instantly stopped. "What?" He was confused, surprised, and excited all at the same time! He slid down the ladder and ran over to where Clara was standing.

The Doctor looked at Clara. "Well?"

Clara pointed to the desk as she looked at the Doctor.

"It's a desk," the Doctor said obviously.

Clara looked to the desk, looked back to the Doctor, and pointed again.

"Sorry, not getting it. It's a desk", the Doctor said matter-of-factly.

"Seriously?" Clara stated, stamping her feet in frustration. "Doctor, this is a Card Catalog!"

Suddenly the Doctor realized! He smacked his hand to his forehead! "Of course!" he exclaimed. "How could I have forgotten? A low tech index for a low tech library!" He took Clara's head in both hands and kissed her on the forehead.

The Doctor and Clara searched the card catalog for his books. Amazingly there was an order to the cards. It still took almost 20 minutes to find the correct card. There was something odd about this card though. It was folded like an accordion. The Doctor unfolded the oversized card, and had a revelation.

"Ah," he said with frustrated voice.

"What is it?" Clara asked. She took the card from the Doctor's hands and looked at the entries.

"Doctor" she exclaimed! "You're kidding me! This is ridiculous!"

This card was more like a set of cards. Each part described a self-contained map – one for each book.

The Doctor shrugged apologetically. "…time for a scavenger hunt," he said, and waved her to follow him.

They followed the instructions for locating the first book, then the second, then the third. By the fourth set of instructions, Clara was getting increasingly frustrated that the Doctor hid the books throughout the TARDIS. The card listed all twelve books, but each book was in a different location of the TARDIS. She asked why not just put them all in one place? Wouldn't that have been simpler?

The Doctor explained, "This set of books is probably one of the most important sets of books in the universe. I needed to be sure they were safe until I got around to giving them to my other selves."

Frustrated at the Doctor's need to over engineer things, Clara opened her mouth to protest. The Doctor waved her off, shushed her, and started to explain. "Where do you keep the backups of all of your pictures from your phone?" the Doctor asked.

"Huh?" Clara looked at him with a blank "What are you talking about?" stare.

The Doctor sighed and said, "Backups. Yes, I'll have to talk with you about backups someday."

The Doctor continued, "What if there was a fire in the console room? What if something happened during our travels and I had to jettison part of the TARDIS?" The Doctor answered Clara's unspoken 'You can do that?' question. "Yes, it has happened in the past. I needed to be absolutely sure at least some of these books survived. Hiding them throughout the TARDIS made very good sense at the time."

They had found nine copies of the book when the Doctor stopped in his tracks. "Well, it's back to the Console Room." The Doctor hadn't been taking any chances when he hid the books. In addition to scattering the majority of books throughout the TARDIS, it turns out he hid a few throughout the universe as well. "Come along teacher…looks like we're going on a field trip!" The Doctor turned to go back to the console room, followed by an excited Clara.

They followed directions to a shelf of a research room at the main library of the Luna University in 5123.

They stopped at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York City on Earth in 1940. There they found another copy hidden behind several copies of _Melody Mellone_ detective stories.

Their final stop was at an obscure dusty room of _The_ Library – the largest library in the Universe. After picking up the book, the Doctor told Clara he'd be right back. She started to follow, but the Doctor turned back to her and motioned for her to stay put. She got the message. "I'll be right back, I just have to look someone up quick," he said.

Having finished their scavenger hunt, the Doctor and Clara headed back to the TARDIS.

"Now what?" asked Clara.

"Now I give myself a second chance!" the Doctor exclaimed.

He put the TARDIS in motion. The time rotor started. They were in flight.

"What does that mean? Where are we going now?" Clara asked.

"Oh," he said, and after a dramatic pause, he finished with a huge grin on his face, "I dare say you'll recognize the place."


	3. Chapter 3 - Special Delivery

The TARDIS materialized on a dark street corner. It was a hazy night, with the fog just starting to lift.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to Clara. "Before we go out there, I need you to understand this is going to be dangerous, and…"

Clara interrupted him, "And how is that different than yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that?"

The Doctor gave her a look, "Well, more weird than dangerous. I need you to stay close, and do exactly what I say when I say it. The very existence of my lives depends on you staying close to me."

Clara heard the concern in his voice, and saw the determination on his face. "Um, Ok", she said, "I can do weird". She decided she wasn't going to argue – this time.

The TARDIS rematerialized, and after the Doctor was satisfied they were in the precise time and place, he turned to Clara and asked her to bring one copy of the book, as well as the data disk.

The Doctor led the way as they opened the doors and started walking out of the TARDIS. As he reached the threshold of the real world, he abruptly turned around, pushed Clara back into the TARDIS, retreated himself, and closed the doors in a panic. "Doctor?" started Clara.

Wide eyed, the Doctor put his finger to her lips to shush her. He then whispered, "There's a policeman walking past the TARDIS." She started to say something, and he quickly shushed her again.

A minute or two passed before the Doctor tried the door. This time the coast was clear. They left the TARDIS, and began walking down the street. They stopped at a slatted sign with the letters I.M. FOREMAN painted in large white letters. Clara stopped in her tracks, and pulled the Doctor around by the arm. "Doctor," she started excitedly. "I recognize this sign. I pass it every day on the way to school." The Doctor smiled. "We're on Totter's Lane, aren't we?" His grin grew even wider. "When?" she asked quickly.

With the biggest smile Clara has seen in a long time, and like a child waiting for his birthday gifts, the Doctor said in a slow, giddy voice, "23 November, 1963."

The Doctor stopped to reminisce, as he knew full well what was going to happen next. They needed to work quickly. As they entered the yard, the Doctor paused to look back towards a car slowing down to park nearby. He wondered what the occupants would think if they saw him enter the yard. The occupants of course had never see him yet, but they _were_ here looking for an old man. He was old. He looked down, remembering that moment all those centuries ago, the moment he's experiencing all over again right now, the moment he gets to experience as an observer this time, and thought how much fun it has been. He looked back up and chucked to himself. Yes, lifetimes of fun.

Once inside the junk yard, the Doctor quickly led Clara over to a corner where a police box stood.

She was excited to see something that looked like the TARDIS. "Doctor, is this a _real_ police box?" Clara said. The Doctor ignored her as they move around to the front of the box. Perplexed, Clara watched as the Doctor took out his TARDIS key and to her amazement, unlocked the door and started to enter the structure.

"Doctor, is this _your_ TARDIS?" she exclaimed in utter amazement!" He stopped to turn back to her. Twice in as many minutes he turned to her with an ear-to-ear grin. She looked at the police box, then looked in the direction the TARDIS should be in out on Totter's Lane, back to the police box, and finally back to the direction of the TARDIS. "But how…" she started, as the Doctor reached out from the police box, pulled her in, and shut the door.

Upon entering the TARDIS for the first time, most people are in awe at the size of the interior. The Doctor always loves that moment when his guests mutter those wonderful words: "It's bigger on the inside!" Clara, however, knew exactly what the inside of a TARDIS should look like. Her amazement was not at the size, but at the ancient look of this console room. It was plain, white, and full of round things. It lacked the sophisticated look she was use to of _her_ TARDIS. As if commenting on a century's old, dilapidated house, she looked around and said "I see now why you redecorated."

While Clara was taking in the old TARDIS, the Doctor was working quickly beneath the console, just under the section that contained the main door switch. "Book!" he stated with his arm outstretched from under the console. Clara took the book out of her bag and handed it to the disembodied hand.

The Doctor jumped up from below the console and shuffled over to the computer console. He punched some keys, and waited for the Program Installation Menu to appear. While he waited, he explained to Clara what he just did. "I put the book into a compartment under the console with a magnetic latch lock. The TARDIS will know when to drop the book at just the right time. I also installed a backup temporal timer just in case. I tried to program the timer for a time when I was bored. Now I need to load the calculation program into the TARDIS computer." He turned to Clara with an outstretched hand, "Disk!" Clara handed him the disk, and he placed it into the TARDIS computer.

As the program was loading, the screen turned all blue, followed by a message in white letters: _Not Enough Processing Power Available_. The Doctor looked troubled, "Arrgh, this could be a blue screen of death", he muttered under his breath. He was panicking again. He furiously pressed keys and turned knobs with no luck. Finally he realized, "The calculations are so complicated and intense, even the TARDIS's can't handle it," he said. Clara started to look worried too.

The Doctor queried the computer as to how much more processing power was needed. The computer responded with the estimated resource requirements. The Doctor frowned again – the news wasn't good. He then asked the computer how to regain that much processing power. The computer responded.

 _Additional processing power obtainable using one of the following methods:_

 _1._ _Disable TARDIS defense mechanisms._

 _2._ _Terminate life support for all rooms other than the console room._

 _3._ _Delete non-essential programs (e.g._ Remote Control, Chameleon Rendering, External Communications, etc.)

 _4._ _Disable Navigation Computer._

The Doctor stared in utter amazement, and then smacked his hand on his heat. "Of course!" he exclaimed!

"What? What is it? What are you going to delete?" asked Clara.

The Doctor starts to explain. "We can't disable the defense mechanisms, that would be bad. We can't turn off life support for most of the TARDIS; over the years I might forget and walk into the cold, dark, airless corridors and 'poof' – no more Doctor. The TARDIS nav is a bit off already, so if I deleted the Navigation program, who knows where I'd end up each time."

Clara was following, and quickly continued the Doctor's words. "OK, that leaves non-essential programs. What are all those systems? Can we get rid of any?"

The Doctor quickly turned to her to explain, "Clara, did you ever wonder why the TARDIS always looks like a 1960's London Police Box?" Clara shrugged. "Well, it's not supposed to always look like a London Police Box. The TARDIS is _supposed_ to blend in to her surroundings."

Clara agreed, "That could be very useful."

The Doctor continued. "Something happened to the Chameleon Circuit many centuries ago. After I left this junk yard, the TARDIS didn't change. I never looked into what happened. I did try to repair it once. It turned out to be a very bad idea. It cost me my life!"

"What's a Chameleon Circuit?" Clara asked.

He continued. "You know what a chameleon does, right? It can change color to match its surroundings – to blend in. The TARDIS can do that too. From its vast database of objects from all of time and space, the Chameleon Circuit morphs the outside of the TARDIS into the best matched object. That is, when the circuit is working."

"Clara!" the Doctor turned and pointed at the computer screen. " _This_ is why the TARDIS is stuck looking like a police box! _I_ broke it! _I_ purged the Chameleon Rendering program all those years ago!" Clara looked on in utter confusion thinking she will never fully get cause and effect when traveling with a Time Lord.

The Doctor purged the program, and reuploaded the disk. This time the program began its calculations. With the installation complete and the program running, the doctor ejected the disk. As he reached to remove the disk from the TARDIS console, he stopped. His eyes were bulging. He heard a voice in the distance. In a panic, he picked up and pocketed the disk, grabbed Clara's arm, and ran out of the console room into the maze of TARDIS corridors. Just as the interior door closed, the exterior doors opened, and in walked a young girl. The Doctor and Clara were trapped in the Doctor's own TARDIS.

They quickly hid in a small room just outside the Console room. Clara opened her mouth, but the Doctor's shushed her. He quietly walked over to the door, opened it, and strained to hear what was going on back in the Console room. He, of course, knew exactly what was going on.

"Doctor, what are we going to do?" asked Clara in a concerned whisper.

"We wait it out," he whispered back. He then started tip toeing out of the room, and motioned Clara to follow him quietly. After a short while, they began to hear muffled voices, and soon were able to make out some of the conversation.

"Close the door, Susan," said an old man. "I believe these people are known to you?"

The young girl replied, "They're two of my schoolteachers."

"Where are we?" a woman's voice asked.

The Doctor and Clara heard the old man scold the young girl about her ridiculous school. "I knew something like this would happen if we stayed in one place too long," he said angrily.

The young man was confused. "But it was a police telephone box. I walked all around it. Barbara, you saw me." Clara can't make out what the old man said, but heard the young man continue, "Just let me get this straight. A thing that looks like a police box, standing in a junkyard - it can move anywhere in time and space?"

The young girl responded with a simple "Yes."

Beginning to have just a bit of sympathy for the young man, the old man started by rhetorically asking if he had ever wondered what it would be like to be cut off from Earth. What if he wasn't even allowed to come back to Earth? He continued, "Susan and I are cut off from our own planet, without friends or protection. But one day we shall get back. Yes, one day. One day."

Clara looked sympathetically at the Doctor and said softly, "Did that 'one day' ever come?" It may not have, or may never again. Gallifrey was destroyed or trapped in another dimension. Either way, there was no going back, she thought.

"Oh, I had been back to Gallifrey since then, but it was always business – never to just go home. Home, he thought. Well," he said in a soft, lonesome voice, "maybe one day…" His voice trailed off.

The young girl was upset now. She was talking in a loud voice, "It's true. Every word of it's true. You don't know what you've done coming in here. Grandfather, let them go now, please…. "

Clara's jaw dropped and her eyes went all big. She pulled the Doctor's arm and roughly swung him around so he could see her face. She looked directly at him and mouthed a single word. GRANDFATHER!?

It was now the Doctor's turn to grab Clara's arm. He pulled her away, out of earshot of the Console room. "Yes, grandfather," he said quickly. "This is neither the time nor place. That," he pointed to the Console room, "is another time - another story – another life. Yes, Susan is my granddaughter. I told you I was married before too. Like the old man said," as he pointed again to the Console room," I don't discuss my private life…"

"…with strangers," Clara countered angrily. "You. He. The old man said with strangers. What am I, chopped liver?"

Frustrated, the Doctor said, "Can we please do this some other time?" He turned and walked back to outside the Console room door. They returned to more arguing. The man and woman were trying to get out of the TARDIS. Clara could tell that her query into the Doctor's past was over for the moment.

By this point in the conversations, and with a little help from the Doctor, Clara has deduced the names of the occupants. The old man was the original Doctor. The young girl's name was Susan, and she was the Doctor's granddaughter. The other two were Susan's teachers, Ian and Barbara.

The Doctor and Clara heard Susan yell, "Don't touch it! It's live!" Then the sound of a small "pop" echoed.

Susan begged the old man, "Grandfather, let them go now, please."

The old man turned to Susan and said "And by tomorrow we shall be a public spectacle, a subject for news and idle gossip."

On the verge of tears, Susan retorted, "But they won't say anything."

The original Doctor continued, "My dear child, of course they will." He challenged Susan to put herself in Ian and Barbara's shoes. He pointed out they would most likely talk to their friends and authorities. The original Doctor said sternly, "If I do let them go, Susan, you realize of course we must go too."

"Doctor," Clara began, "why didn't you let them go?" She pointed at her Doctor, "Nowadays you seem to be quick to kick people out of the TARDIS, and don't care what they might say or do. What changed?"

"Oh, I don't know. I was younger back then - maybe a little less trusting. I hadn't been on Earth long enough to really understand Humans. We all make decisions that we might not make again in hindsight. All I can say is we had some exciting adventures together. I met the Daleks for the first time on our second adventure together. After Ian and Barbara stopped traveling with me, they went on to live happily ever after. Literally! And after a go at teaching at Cambridge, they came home." The Doctor looked knowingly at his companion, "Clara, do you know the name of the _Chairman of the Governors_ of Coal Hill School?"

"Of course," Clara replied instantly. "It's Chesterson. Doctor Ian…" Clara stopped, and in that moment of realization, her eyes grew to the size of oranges, while her jaw dropped in amazement.

The Doctor smiled, and turned back to eavesdropping on the Console room conversation.

Susan and the original Doctor began to argue. Susan was adamant about staying on Earth, while the Doctor insisted on leaving. No matter how much Susan tried to convince her grandfather that Ian and Susan were good people, he refused to concede. Finally, Susan gave him an ultimatum. "I won't go, Grandfather. I won't leave the twentieth century. I'd rather leave the TARDIS and you."

The original Doctor now scolded Susan, "Now you're being sentimental and childish." As Susan protested, insisting she would stay on Earth, her grandfather continued, "Very well. Then you must go with them. I'll open the door."

Ian and Barbara were relieved. Susan, however, saw what the original Doctor was doing. She panicked, and screamed, "Oh, no, Grandfather! No!"

The Original Doctor started the TARDIS dematerializing. Susan screamed.

Both the Doctor's eyes and Clara's were bulging. What would they do!? The TARDIS was in flight, and the Doctor and Clara were stuck in the original Doctor's TARDIS.

Almost crying, Clara asked "Doctor, what do we do?"

"Look," the Doctor started, "I know this looks bad. It really isn't – well maybe a little. Remember, I've done all this before." He thumbed behind himself in the direction of the Console room. "All we have to do is wait it out."

The TARDIS finally landed. There were more arguments coming from the Console room. While Barbara had kept an open mind, Ian couldn't believe they had moved. After several minutes of checking and rechecking things like atmosphere, temperature, and radiation level, the original Doctor finally opened the TARDIS doors. The Doctor and Clara heard Barbara call for Ian to come out and look, followed shortly by the sound of the TARDIS doors closing.

The Doctor and Clara emerged slowly back into the Console room. "Doctor," Clara started in a quick voice, "What do we do now? We can't take this TARDIS. The other you and everyone else would be trapped here, and even I know that didn't happen since you are obviously not on that planet." She amazed herself that what she said actually made sense given the circumstances.

While Clara had been talking, the Doctor had been thinking. "So, this is what we're going to do," he began. "As soon as everyone gets far enough away from the TARDIS, we dematerialize, and head back to 1963. Then I'll send this TARDIS back. See, I guess there was a reason I didn't purge the Remote Control program." As he walked away, he pointed at Clara and said "Second chances."

When everyone outside the TARDIS was far enough away to be off of the scanner, the Doctor began setting the coordinates for 1963.

"Doctor, this console looks so antique. Are you sure you remember how to fly the TARDIS?" Clara asked in a concerned voice. "I wouldn't want to end up a hundred miles from nowhere."

The Doctor gave Clara a look. "As a matter of fact, I _do_ remember how to fly this TARDIS. Like all my other selves, the console's face has changed over the years, but the operation is the always the same. I just wish I knew how to fly the TARDIS back then in my younger days. I might not have ended up in all of those predicaments over the centuries. This should be a simple flight."

They dematerialized without incident, and materialized back in the junk yard. The Doctor reset the coordinates back to the stone age, flipped a small switch labeled "Remote Control", and the two of them left the TARDIS.

"Now what?" asked Clara.

"Watch," replied the Doctor.

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, held it up towards the TARDIS, and flipped the screwdriver at the TARDIS like a magic wand. The TARDIS disappeared into nothingness.

Ian, Barbara, Susan, and the original Doctor were running. Their first adventure together was a mix of emotions to say the least. Their lives had been threatened, they had created fire, and in a desperate attempt to scare their captors, had passed off some old skulls as disembodied spirits.

They were running for their lives. They had a good head start, but they could hear the cave dwellers in the distance. Ian was first to reach the clearing where the TARDIS would be waiting for them in the distance. Ian stopped in his tracks, and ran back to the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Ian exclaimed out of breath, "The ship! It's gone!"

They all stopped, and stared at Ian in horror. Were they trapped and about to be burned to death by a crowd of primitive humans?

"Nonsense, my dear boy, the ship just can't go wherever it wants. I'm sure you're mistaken," the Doctor said simply.

"No, Doctor, it's not there, come and look," Ian said in desperation.

They started back up, and shortly entered the clearing. They all breathed a sigh of relief. The ship was exactly where they had left it.

"But, it was gone!" protested Ian.

The Doctor laughed, "Come along, young man, it's been a long day. You must have been seeing things."

As they were all smiling in relief, they sound of the cave crowd broke the silence. While the Doctor and crew were celebrating their escape, the crowd had been catching up. As the crowd's chants got louder, the Doctor and crew took off in a sprint towards the TARDIS.

It was a close call, but they made it safely back.

Back in the 1963 junk yard, the Doctor seemed pleased with himself. They walked out the gate, and up Totter's Lane to where he had parked his TARDIS. "Well," Clara started, "that was an adventure. How about a nice relaxing trip to the Eye of Orion. You said once it was one of the most tranquil places in the universe. I could do with a rest."

As they entered the TARDIS, the Doctor called back to her his plan. "Clara, this is just the start. Now isn't the time to think about vacations. We have to finish what we just started, because now is not the time to procrastinate."

Clara was confused. "Huh?" she asked. "What do you mean we just started?"

As the Doctor set the coordinate for his next stop, he began explaining it all to her. "We need to put the book in the TARDIS of each of my other selves."

Clara was confused. The Doctor continued.

"Each of me will have forgotten about what the book was about, and even quite possibly discarded it. I've never seen that book in my TARDIS. That's one of the reasons why I needed to do this," he said.

"Remember back in the Tower of London? Just before you opened the jail cell of my predecessors, they were working on a plan to de-atomize the door. "

"Yeah, you should have tried the door first," she said obviously.

"Shush! Captain Grumpy scanned the door with his Sonic Screwdriver. Since number Eleven had the same screwdriver, by his point in time, the calculations to disintegrate the door had completed. We're going to do sort of the same thing, but on a much larger scale."

"OK, that makes sense, I think. But if the calculations are going to take hundreds of years, what good will the partial calculations be to your earlier selves?" Clara said, hoping to point out the obvious.

"Ah, well see the inside of the TARDIS exists in all time and space. So even though the original me will get a copy of the book way back then, the calculations won't be finished until it finishes in Eleven's TARDIS. Then, buy definition of temporal something-or-other, the calculations will be complete in all previous TARDIS computers at the same time. It's all very - timey-whimy."

With that, the Doctor and Clara set off to deliver and install the instruction book into each of remaining eight TARDIS consoles. He reminded her Ten, Eleven, and Grumpy were already part of the plan, and they just dropped off the instructions to the Original Doctor's TARDIS, plus himself, which left eight more to go. "Hopefully," he remarked, "the others will go much smoother." Clara could only hope.


	4. Chapter 4 - Drop Off Vignettes

**Two**

The TARDIS materialized on a beach. The Doctor frowned as he noticed the space time coordinates. "Hmm," he said to no one in particular.

"What? What is it Doctor?" Clara questioned.

"We're a bit close for comfort," he thought out loud.

"Lleettss go!" he shouted. Clara was caught by surprise. "No time like the present," he said as he clapped his hands together and headed for the TARDIS door. "Don't forget the instructions!"

Clara picked up another copy of the instructions and followed the Doctor. She stopped immediately as she exited the TARDIS. The Doctor had parked his TARDIS right next to the TARDIS belonging to his other self. She thought he didn't want any long hikes this time.

"Wow! Getting better. You redecorated," as she crossed the threshold to Two's TARDIS.

"Get used to it," he said.

Like in the first TARDIS, the Doctor dove under the console and began work. He took the book from Clara, and installed it as before under an obscure panel. This console was a bit smaller, and he couldn't place the temporal timer properly. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a long pair of pliers. Like a surgeon, he began to carefully seat the temporal timer.

Clara noticed the long pliers and cautioned the Doctor. "Be careful with those. You don't want to poke your eye out." The Doctor began to rant about how he knows exactly what he's doing, and how he knows the TARDIS like the back of his hand, and how he knows how to use simple human hand tools.

He suddenly stopped his ranting. "Ooops," he said, followed by an "Ah" of realization.

"Doctor!" Clara said in a frustrated tone. She knew from that "oops" something bad was about to happen, and knew from the "ah" that he probably could of prevented whatever that bad thing was.

"Um, there's a small leak. Nothing to worry about, but we probably should leave. Quickly," he finished, and he ran towards the door.

"Doctor!" she said again, begging for an explanation.

He turned back to her. "Look, we need to leave. I accidentally made a tiny hole in a mercury line," he said calmly.

Clara was no scientist, but knew the poisonous effects of mercury. "Doctor!" she said as she stomped her feet in disbelief. She was worried.

"Look, it's no big deal. Well, not yet. It seems I make my own problems. Just after I dropped Zoe off, Jamie and I had just landed, when the TARDIS began showing us temptations on the scanner screen. The TARDIS wanted us to get out quickly. Very soon after, a major mercury line ruptured, and began to fill the console room with poisonous gas. Um," the embarrassed Doctor looked at the floor, "now I know how that rupture started. Let's go!"

They ran out of Two's TARDIS and into their own. As his TARDIS dematerialized, the Doctor said to Clara, "Awe, they'll be alright. I'm here, aren't I?"

Clara looked at him disapprovingly. "Seriously? Mercury? That explains a lot! Mad Hatter, Mad Doctor!"

The Doctor simply turned back to his console and smiled.

 **Three**

The TARDIS materialized in a densely wooded area. The Doctor and Clara could see Three's TARDIS just a few yards away. It was out in the open.

"We should be fine here. I, I mean the third me, just regenerated and is in the hospital recovering," the Doctor started. Clara didn't believe the part about being fine. Things hadn't gone as planned so far. He continued, "We should have plenty of time to install the instruction book before the soldiers get here."

Clara was incredulous. "Solders!?" she cried!

The Doctor ignored her. They left his TARDIS, briskly walked over to Three's TARDIS, opened the door, and began their work. As before, the Doctor deposited the book beneath the TARDIS console. They went to exit Three's TARDIS, when the Doctor stopped abruptly at the door. He turned to Clara, put his finger to his lips to hush her, and feeling defeated, whispered, "Soldiers."

The soldiers were talking to a poacher. The solders had their backs to Three's TARDIS, but the poacher was staring right at the door. The Doctor had to think fast. He kept his finger to his lips as he slowly opened the door. Both the Doctor and Clara tiptoed as quietly as they could away from Three's TARDIS. The Doctor was pretty sure the poacher saw him, saw his finger at his lips in silence, and knew to keep quiet and to keep the soldiers talking.

"Well don't ask. Just push off," said the soldier. The poacher turned to walk away.

The Doctor and Clara were almost to the safety of wooded area and his own TARDIS when they heard the soldier yell "Stop! You there! Stop! This is a restricted area!" The soldier fired off a warning shot into the air.

They were discovered. There was no need to be quiet any longer. "Run!" the Doctor screamed.

In the nick of time, they reached the TARDIS. The Doctor pulled out his key, unlocked the door, and crossed the threshold in a single, fluid motion. They were safe now…until the next time.

The Doctor and Clara's adventures continued as they traveled through time and space, catching up to his other selves, and putting copies of the instruction book into each TARDIS.

Some went perfectly, like when the TARDIS was empty while the Fourth Doctor, Sara Jane, and Harry were stuck on Skaro. Four's TARDIS was unattended, so getting in and out was uneventful. Getting the instructions into Nine's TARDIS was just as simple as he often left his TARDIS parked in the yard outside Rose's apartment complex.

Others were downright terrifying, like when the Doctor materialized his TARDIS within Five's TARDIS shortly after Five regenerated. They had to get in and out during the very short interval when Five, Nissa, and Tegan were in the Zero Room in depths of Five's TARDIS, but before Five's TARDIS reached Event One.

After dropping off the last book, the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. He was all proud of himself. Mission accomplished. "Well," he said triumphantly, "that's the last one." As he turned to walk away, something dropped out from under the console.


End file.
